Unsigned City: Glasgow - GigslutzGigslutz

Promoting unsigned artists is something we at Gigslutz feel extremely passionate about, with our regular ‘Unsigned Act Of The Week’ and ‘Ones To Watch’ features, as well as a wealth of reviews and premieres. Celebrating new artists, or even people who’ve been making music for years but not got the recognition they deserve, is something we pride ourselves on and feel is an integral part of what the world of music should be about. We therefore thought it would be a great idea to focus on the array of unsigned artists in different cities around the country and spread the word about the huge amount of talent that is out there!

– Mari Lane, Assistant Editor & Unsigned Artists Editor

This week, it’s the turn of Bazza Mills to select five artists from the thriving Glasgow scene…

The Velveteen Saints:

Formed in 2012, the hotly tipped The Velveteen Saints have been compared to Eddie Cochrane and tagged on occasion as fifties sounding garage rock ‘n’ roll. Hailing from Coatbridge, the band consists of Martin Macdonald, Shaun Hughes (both guitar and vocals), Mark Thomson (vocals and bass) and Michael Gahagan (drums). Having already supported the likes of Tim Burgess and The View as well as playing Kendal Calling, Wickerman, The Isle of Wight and T in The Park, The Velveteen Saints are a band on the up! With long awaited debut single ‘Postcards From Rome’ recently released, and an accompanying launch gig at Broadcast in Glasgow, big things could be coming in 2015.

John Rush:

I caught John Rush at The Admiral Bar in Glasgow earlier in the year when he supported former Seahorses front-man Chris Helme. On the night, I was ‘prepped’ by some females in the crowd prior to John taking the stage who “telt me” to expect some terrific songs from Mr Rush. Admittedly, I was impressed with the Glasgow singer/songwriter’s Dylan infused folk songs and have kept a wee eye on him since. Having racked up a number of impressive support slots, John is no stranger to Glasgow’s live venues having played the Barrowland , King Tut’s, the Academy and even the Royal Concert Hall. September brought the release of The Anna E.P, with John taking his talent over the Atlantic to play 5 gigs in 4 nights in New York. If you see John on a bill near you, get yourself along…”that’s you telt”!

Tijuana Bibles:

Having visited the Mexican border town of Tijuana a few years back, the name of this band instantly grabbed my attention and conjured up various images of intrigue. Described as “reeking of catfish and whisky”, Tijuana Bibles have spiced up 2014 with the release of their tunes ‘Toledo’ and ‘Crucifixtion’. The band – made up of Tony Costello, Behn Cross, Mikey Dornan and James Brannigan – have a somewhat busy end to the year and, following their recent performance at Dunfermline Live, have November support slots with Alabamha 3 at the Lemon Tree in Aberdeen and then with The View at Dundee’s Caird Hall, before bringing 2014 to a close with their own Hogmanay headline slot at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut. With a new single due in February, 2015 shows no let-up as Tijuana Bibles look set to take their rock ‘n’ roll to the masses.

Feet Of Clay:

Recently immortalised in the ‘Barrowland Path’, Feet Of Clay are a Coatbridge band I have enjoyed immensely on the two occasions I have caught them live at Glasgow’s Classic Grand. Led by the charismatic John Paul on vocals, the five piece consisting of Brian Imrie (lead guitar), Danny Brown, Kevin Mooney (both guitar), Craig Croal (bass) and Michael Sheridan (drums) love being on stage and have a few cracking tracks in their locker. Recent release, ‘The Revenge Of Icarus’, is right up my street and – with catchy sounding tunes like this – it is not surprising Manc band Northside have once again looked to Feet Of Clay as their support for their forthcoming show at The Admiral in Glasgow.

Toni Etherson:

Not normally my kind of thing, but back in April when I attended a Kristyna Myles gig, a young Glasgow lady named Toni Etherson made a lasting impression with her innocent tone and folky/pop sounding acoustic support set. At the time singer-songwriter Toni had recently returned to Scotland from Australia and shared experiences of her travels with the crowd. Since then Toni has continued on her journey and went down a storm with the natives in George Square with her rendition of ‘Caledonia’. For me, Toni’s tracks ‘I Wanna Be’ and ‘Born In The Wrong Generation’ suggest something special could be about to happen for Toni and perhaps she could be the next big thing to come out of Scotland.